White as snow
by wsalberta
Summary: After the death of her mother, Stephenie moves from New York and the society with her multibillionaire father. Inconvenient, they end up in her father's Canadian birth village where hockey seems to be the only thing that matters. While she struggles with her past, her path always seems to cross with her neighbor Lucas, the boy that is predicted to be an NHL-legend.


**Not really a gossip girl fanfiction since everything is ficitional, but of all books, tv-shows, etc. that's available it can appear influenced by gossip girl. If you want further chapters please leave a review! **

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_Stephenie_

It had been a tough couple of months when Stephenie finally entered her new school, a dull building without any character. Just as any other community building it wasn't situated far away from the main square in White Sands. In the same area there was also an extremely small hospital that Stephenie was sure couldn't host more than five patients, a police department, two cafés and a few stores. One of the cafés transferred into a bar on the evenings and were the place to be for everyone over 19, Stephenie, who still was only 16 years old had no business there, still, that was the only place she found even a bit interesting in White Sands. That was the only place that slightly reminded her of the life she had lived in New York, mainly of the alcohol and, because of that, all the clubbing and partying.

Walking through the dirty glass door into the main corridor, which was just a depressing as the facade of the school, she tried to convince herself that she was strong. For now, the school was completely empty, but she knew that in less than a half hour it would be smocked with people wondering what the new girl was up to.

It would be an understatement to say that she had been through a lot. There would be an understatement to state that she was just like any other sixteen year old. Stephenie was nothing like other sixteen year old girls. Sure, she went to school, she was insecure and did stupid things trying to figure out who she was, she spent nights wondering what the point of life was and sometimes she asked herself if it was worth it. Just like any other teenage girl she tried to find her place in the world, something that had been hard even before the last couple of months.

On a bright day in April she entered the world, being seen as one of the "lucky" ones. Chance, or whatever else controlled if your sole or mind or whatever ended up in Asia, Africa or America, had placed her at what seemed to be the best place of them all, in the best family of them all. She was brought up in a world consisting of Russian caviar and champagne, where babies and small children wore clothes from Burberry and possibly Tommy Hilfiger, even though it was a bit too cheap. When she was small she was only Stephenie, Richard and Christine's second child and first daughter, but the older she got she realised that wasn't all. She was Stephenie _Marion Vanderbilt_, two silly surnames that shaped her more than it should.

Her mother was the daughter of William Vanderbilt the third, son of Henry Vanderbilt the second, whatever that meant. Just like her mother and brother, her childhood consisted of the expectation of her being just as great as any other Vanderbilt. She was supposed to be the most beautiful, successful and fantastic women in her age group in New York's society. Sure she was pretty when her hairstylist, make-up artist and stylist had worked their magic, but she wasn't very successful and neither fantastic, which led to her being a disappointment already at age fourteen. Her first surname, which to the society was the least important one, came from her father. He was just a common man with a common name who would have been like any other man if it hadn't been for the small detail that he was the founder and CEO of Marion Cable Enterprises. Growing up in a small village somewhere in Canada, he had given up on his dream of becoming a professional hockey player at the age of seventeen. Just to occupy his mind while all his friends played hockey, he started a project trying to get an internet connection to the small town. Back then, internet wasn't such a big thing so when he after quite some time staged a computer with internet on a café in town, he figured he could try to spread internet even more, convinced it would develop. Back then, he couldn't understand how much it actually would expand during the next couple of years, but by the time Stephenie was born, he was already multimillionaire. Of course, his success wasn't free, to be able to become even richer and making his company even bigger, he had to sacrifice all of his time. Looking back at the way she had grew up, there was no wonder she was so fucked up.

Walking though the hallway she knew for sure that she wasn't one of the "lucky" ones. Except from her childhood, which could've been good if it hadn't been for all the expectations and her parents' absence, the last year had proved that she wasn't meant to be happy. It all began shortly after her sixteenth birthday, starting with a bad mistake that led to her brother, who went to college in California, ignoring her. Moving on, she took bad decisions, went to clubs she wasn't allowed to be in because of her age, going to parties in unfamiliar apartments where people were both high and drunk, kissing boys she shouldn't, drinking until she threw up. For a short period of time, it was as if she couldn't sink any deeper. Then, after a chilly spring-almost summer- night, after a car accident on 2nd avenue, her mother was dead. Just like that, in the middle of all the chaos, she basically had no brother and most definitely no mother.

If there was one thing people should know, it was that losing your mother was everything but easy. Losing your mother who also happened to be William Vanderbilt the third's daughter, a very respected and well-known woman in New York _and _the wife of multibillionaire Richard Marion, was even tougher. Her dad must have known this, because when the news of her death became known they were already at their beach villa in Mexico, both too shocked to be able to do anything else but sleep.

The school wasn't very big, at least not from what she had seen so far. When she arrived at principal's office she had passed two classrooms and a few lockers, and that seemed to be half of the first floor. The room itself couldn't even be compared to the principal's office at her last school, an exceptional private girl school with huge classrooms and a principal's office that were ten times the size of the room she was standing in.

By the white wall that was so dirty it looked yellow stood a couple of green plastic chairs and on both sides of the door there was small windows looking out to the hallway she just walked through. Opposite of the wall with the chairs there was a desk that looked cheap and old, definitely not the combination she was used to, and by it sat a little lady. She must have been in her early forties, a bit round with pale skin and reddish hair. On her nose tip she had a pair of black glasses that she looked through at the computer. The stainless computer caught Stephenie's attention, it was what seemed to be the newest item she had seen so far and she would not be surprised if it was one of the donations her dad had given to the school. Of course, it was just a more suitable word for a type of bribe. Even though she had such a nice family and her father himself had attended the High School, she was sure the school board hadn't been too delighted when they got the phone call from her father. Like the files from her last High School filled with detention, punishments, late arrival, high non-attendance wasn't enough, it was pretty much known that Stephenie wasn't the best student. Like her surnames didn't cause her enough problems it also made her an interesting target for the media.

She took a brief look at the computer before stepping in front of the lady's old desk. She couldn't put a finger on why the computer disturbed her, but it most definitely did.

'Well hello sweetheart' The woman said and smiled. 'You sure are early for being the first day of the semester! Can I help you with something?'

Stephenie tried to smile back even though she had a hard time deciding how to respond to the lady calling her sweetheart. All her life people had referred to her as Miss Marion, Miss Vanderbilt and most commonly Miss Marion Vanderbilt. If her family's staff ever missed out on one of the last name, they always corrected themselves. No one had ever called her sweetheart.

'I'm here to speak with the principal' Stephenie said as casual as she possibly could. If she was nervous for the day, she hadn't noticed it yet. 'I'm Stephenie Marion Vanderbilt' She stretched her arm over the table to shaken her hand.

'Oh my! Of course!' The little lady rose so quickly that her encountering with the desk made the computer quake. 'Miss Marion! Oh I'm so sorry for –' She interrupted herself and seemed suddenly nervous. 'My name is Mrs Hensley, I wasn't expecting you this early'

'Well…' Started Stephenie and loosed her grip of Mrs Hensley's hand that started to get damp. 'My dad told me to be here in time so that it wouldn't take too much time of my first lesson'

'Of course, of course' She murmured and started to move the papers on the desk around. 'You know what, you should probably sit down and just wait. I'll make sure Mr Smith knows you're here' Mrs Hensly looked a bit nervous when she scanned her desk. 'So if you just…' She walked out from her desk and pointed at the green plastic chairs. '…take a seat, I'll go and find your schedule, it will only take a minute'

Stephenie nodded and watched how Mrs Hensley disappeared into the hallway. She followed her instruction and took an uncomfortable seat. It only took a few minutes for Mrs Hensley to return and this time she had a couple of papers in her hand.

'So let's see Miss' She said and seemed to force the "miss" out, like she wasn't used to using titles at all. 'This is your schedule for the semester, some papers about the school and then,' She reached over a booklet. 'Just a little introduction to the school's traditions and rules'

Stephenie received all the papers and smiled gratefully, just like she had been toughed to do. She surely wasn't an angel, but her parents had taught her how to behave well in front of adults. A lot of times adults she met started to question the bad reputation she had only because she was so delightful to be around.

As soon as Mrs Hensley finished her description of the papers, the door next to her old desk flung open and through it came a man. Just like Mrs Hensley, he was chubby with his full-bodied belly tucked in under a blue shirt. His hair had probably been dark once, because among all the grey highlights there were some black spots. Over his lip was a huge mustache that caught all the attention, it made everything else in his face seem so dull.

'Miss Marion Vanderbilt' He said and smiled so big it seemed to be fake, which it probably was. 'It's so nice to finally meet you'

Stephenie stood up and shook the hand he had reached out. Just like she expected his clasp was very strong and secure, this was a man who was used to shaking hands.

'Hi' Was the only word Stephenie could get out, what did you say to your future principal? _"It's so nice to meet you to! Sooner or later (most likely sooner) you will realize what a big mistake you made accepting me into this school"._ Not likely.

'Shall we?' He asked and gestured for her to follow him into his office. 'Please sit'

Stephenie sat down on the chair in front of his desk that was a lot bigger than Mrs Hensley's. His office was a big room with three from floor to ceiling windows that showed the backside of the school. In front of them the big desk stood, taking up half the floor's space. On the left wall there was a big cabinet with glass doors that displayed a whole lot of trophies. Sitting down in front of the desk, she turned her head and studied them all. There were statues in all different sizes, changing their colors from silver to gold to bronze. When Stephenie had studied them all she noticed the smaller yet noticeable shelf beside it. Two frames were supported by it, both displaying two different hockey teams. One which seemed to fit into their time frame and one which must have been about 20 years old, probably even older. In between them the biggest trophy of them all was standing, a bit shadowed by a scarf that seemed to support some sort of sports team.

'Isn't it beautiful?' The principal asked her when he noticed her gazing at the trophy collection. 'The village's junior hockey team has won them all, most of them last year' He laughed like it was something ironic about it. 'And with this year's team, the collection sure will expand'

'They're impressive' Stephenie agreed and took a last look at the shelf with the group portraits.

'Yes, I'm sure your father has told you all about the hockey team'

'He has, and my grandma has, and my friends. I guess it's kind of hard to miss'

Mr Smith started laughing and nodded 'I bet it is, especially since your father played there himself. I guess he has told you all about it before?'

'Some' Stephenie lied. Her father hadn't told her much about his hockey, neither of White Sands. All her life, he had always been too busy to ever get that far in the telling of his history. When she arrived to White Sands that summer, she hadn't known what to expect. She had known it was a small village, but she hadn't expected it to be so country-like. All around it there were fields and fields of different grain and coniferous forests, not leaving much to imagination. The village was situated right by a huge lake and it was also by this lake that Stephenie's new mansion-like house was situated. All summer she had seen people using it to it fullest, going by boat, canoes or jet skis on the dark surface.

'Well, we should probably be happy he wasn't a very good hockey player, shouldn't we?' Mr Smith laughed again before picking up some of the papers on the desk. 'So let's take a look at what this semester has to offer for you Miss Marion...'

The principal started to tell her about her schedule and her teachers, about the rules and the hockey. He told her all about the team, what they were going to do and that this certainly was the year they would win Memorial Cup. Somewhere among all his prattle she heard Nate's and Marcus's names, but she didn't even bother mentioning she already knew them. She figured it wouldn't be interesting for him.

'So I guess that's all, if you don't have any further questions?'

Stephenie shook her head a bit too soon and smiled big so that he wouldn't notice how bored she was. 'Everything is clear'

'Well, then' He raised and stretched out his arm so that they could shake hands one more time. 'Good luck Miss Marion, and if there's any problems or complications, don't even hesitate to come to me, ok?'

Stephenie nodded and collected all her papers. 'Of course Mr Smith' She said before pushing down the door handle and opening the door. After a last glance at all the trophies she left his office and came out to the room where Mrs Hensley's desk was. She didn't know how long she and Mr Smith had been talking, but on the green plastic chairs two students sat and through the glass windows she could see how people rushed through the hallway. Suddenly feeling nervous, she took one last big breath and entered the hallway, meeting gazes even before she was completely in it. Once again that morning she tried to convince herself that she was strong. With that thought she quickly turned around, ready to walk further in to the school. It all had gone smooth if it hadn't been for the loud crash that echoed in the hallway just a second later. With a stabbing pain in both her chest and butt she found herself sitting on the hallway floor. The papers that she had held against her chest was now flying around her head and slowly landed beside her on the dirty floor.

_Lucas_

Lucas stepped out of his car just as the first bell of the morning rang. 'Why did you have to oversleep today of all days?' He asked Nate furiously and stroked some of the dark, dark blonde hair that had fallen down in his eyes. 'It's the first day of school for god's sake, if there's one day you should be on time, it's today!'

Nate sighed and took a big bite of the sandwich he had brought with him while he carefully closed the door to Lucas's car. 'It's the first day of the semester Luke, you must do something real bad if the principal's going to contact your parents' He assured Lucas as they started making their way up to the school. Lucas just shook his head, clearly not satisfied with the answer, and walked a bit faster.

When Nate caught up with his speed Lucas was the one who sighed as he watched a few other students that also were late. 'It's the first day of our last year and we begin it with late arrival'

'Don't worry' Nate mumbled with half the sandwich still in his mouth. Lucas rolled his eyes and pulled the door open to the school. When they came in to the familiar hallway it was unusual empty and by the time they were by their lockers the second bell rang.

'And a late arrival won't effect your future by the way, as far as I see it, you could just skip school and train instead' Nate said as Lucas opened his locker.

Lucas shook his head, clearly not agreeing with Nate. 'What if I get hurt before I get drafted? What if I break a leg? It can ruin a whole season'

'Like that will matter' Nate started laughing and Lucas pulled out the piece of paper with his schedule on it. 'You'll still get drafted top ten, perhaps even first if the injury isn't too bad' Nate started to fumble with something by his locker that was about three meters away from Lucas's. He crumpled the plastic that had been around the sandwich and dropped it discretely on the floor. 'You've already beaten loads of records in the WHL and I'm not the only one who thinks it's only the begging'

'Sure' Lucas mumbled a bit ironic.

'Shit' Nate ignored Lucas's weak answer when he saw his schedule for the semester. 'Shit, shit, shit'

'English with Miss Perkins?' Lucas asked with a grin on his face.

'Of course they do this to me! Dude, I promise that it's for the time I broke into the principal's office to put on some music in the speakers'

'Or maybe the time you made the fire alarm go off?' Lucas suggested. When it came to Nate, there were loads of reasons to why they had put him in the class with the school's severest teacher.

'Mr Montgomery?' A shrill voice appeared behind Nate and he quickly turned around.

'Well hello… Miss Pekins'

Miss Perkins studied his face with a hard look and then gazed on the plastic she had in her hand. 'The principal doesn't want to call any parents today, so I assume this piece just fell out of your pocket?' She said sharply and pressed the plastic cover in his hand.

Nate shook his head with his face covered in fake surprise. 'I had no idea it had fell out of my pocket Miss Perkins'

Miss Perkins ignored him and gave them both a look that could kill. 'No late arrival on the first day I hope?' She asked. Lucas turned to his locker and tried not to laugh as Nate assured her that they would be on time.

'Mr Davies' She said as she passed his locker on her way away from them. Nate looked after her and didn't meet Lucas's amused face until he was completely sure she was gone.

'Holy shit' He crumpled the plastic Miss Perkins had given to him and put it in his pocket. 'She scares the shit out of me'

Lucas still laughed when he took out the two books he needed for the first lesson of the semester. 'She's half your height' He said and closed his locker.

'Doesn't matter!' Nate said as they started moving down the hallway. 'She's like a freaking monster'

'She's just –'

Boom!

A loud bang interrupted Lucas and he could feel how the thing that had hit him left small feelings of pain in his chest.

When his mind was back in its place he looked down on the floor and there, with the last papers still swirling around her head, sat a girl.

'Shit!' Lucas said chocked and quickly stretched out his hand to offer her help up from the floor. 'I'm so, so sorry!' He continued, still so chocked he barely didn't notice she didn't seem to want his help.

The blonde girl pulled away a few loops of hair that had fallen down in front of her eyes and Lucas met her greyish eyes. An expression of hopelessness spread in her face and she studied his hand, probably not sure whether to take it or not.

'I'm fine' She mumbled and decided not to take his hand. Instead she pushed her palms against the floor and helped herself up, which left Lucas feeling stupid with his hand out in the air. Uncomfortable he pulled his hand back and tried to catch the girl's eyes as she stood up, but she was too busy dusting of her clothes. She must have been a freshman because he had never seen her before, but he still questioned that because she looked to be at least a senior. She was pretty tall, probably just beneath 6 feet and about 6 or 7 inches shorter than him, with a thin figure and long blonde hair that fell around her porcelain-looking skin.

'I'm really, really sorry' Lucas said and tried to catch her gaze one more time, but by the time she was finished with the dusting she bent down to collect the papers that was spread all over the floor. Lucas quickly joined in, collecting some of her things only to get a chance to give them to her and see her eyes again. 'Are you sure you're fine?'

'Yes' She muttered and bent down to pick up one of Lucas's books. 'I'm fine'

When she stood straight again he finally met her eyes and clearly saw that she was annoyed. Still, it wasn't the feelings in them he got caught by, it was by their looks. Now he saw that they weren't only grey, there was also some green there, barely noticeable but still there, making them a whole lot more alive.

'Can I just get my papers?' She asked and the annoyance appeared in her voice. 'I'm already late'

Lucas nodded a bit too quick and gave her the papers he had collected.

'Thanks' She mumbled without looking at him again, and then she was on her way. He turned around, looking after her, wondering who the hell she was, and saw how she stopped not far away from him. The person that had stopped her was Nate and even though Lucas couldn't hear what they said, he saw how Nate's face lit up. The girl seemed just as annoyed by Nate as by him and quickly broke lose before continuing down the hallway.

'You know her?' Lucas asked when Nate came up to him again.

'Her?' Nate turned around and caught the last glint of the girl. 'Sure, that's Stephenie'

'Stephenie?'

'Yep man, your new neighbor, quite a beauty huh?' Nate said and patted him sympathetic on the shoulder. That definitely explained why Lucas hadn't recognized her. She and her father had been living next to him for about a month, but since he had gotten home from his hockey camps only yesterday night, he hadn't gotten to meet her yet.

'Really?' Lucas said, suddenly even more taken by the girl that had given him quite a first impression.

'Yeah, she's nice, very friendly, but I know what you're thinking,' Nate said and suddenly clasped both his should. 'And you really shouldn't waste your time, she's not the type of girl that falls for hockey guys. Trust me, I've tried to get some kind of acknowledgement from her all summer'

When Lucas understood Nate had gone a bit too deep in his interpretation of Lucas's question he just laughed and looked at the clock in the hallway. They were already really, really late for their first lesson. 'We're late' He quickly said, and when Nate saw how late they actually were, all thoughts of Stephenie got lost.


End file.
